The revelations of the debate

Of the seven presidential candidates who participated in the debate hosted by Band on Tuesday night, Marina Silva stood out the most. Fueled by 29% of the electorate's support, 10% ahead of Aécio Neves (of the PSDB party), according to the latest Ibope poll released that same day, the former senator from Acre appeared calm and confidently answered all questions, even those questioning her ties to businessmen and bankers facing problems with the Internal Revenue Service. However, she gave the impression that, if elected, she might govern with familiar figures from the neoliberalism of the FHC (Fernando Henrique Cardoso) administration.

The debate between the candidates, always an excellent opportunity for voters to assess the aspirants to the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), could have been better and more productive if it hadn't been marred by two aspects: first, the presence of candidates without any preparation or chance of being elected, such as Pastor Everaldo, from the PSC; Levy Fidelix, from the PRTB; and Eduardo Jorge, from the PV, who hindered, for example, Luciana Genro, from the PSOL, whose participation could have offered a greater contribution to the debate; and second, the creation of a scheme that turned President Dilma into everyone's target.

Even the journalists from Grupo Bandeirantes, who should have behaved impartially when asking questions, were biased: they posed a question to one candidate, but their target was the President. In reality, they were setting up Dilma's opponents, especially Aécio and Marina, who only had to head the ball into the goal. And they knew very well how to take advantage of the situation intelligently. In the end, Boris Casoy acknowledged that Dilma was the main "target," against whom everyone threw stones, including him and his colleagues. Nobody asked, for example, about the family airport built by Aécio with public money, nor about the irregular situation of the jet that transported the PSB candidates.

The PSDB candidate, Aécio Neves, although performing well and even showing some courage in expressing his admiration for former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, made two serious mistakes that will cost him many votes and his third-place finish: first, he chose the wrong opponent to attack, as Marina Silva, not Dilma Rousseff, took second place in the presidential race; and second, in another bold move, he announced Arminio Fraga as his Minister of Finance, should he be elected, a possibility that is becoming increasingly remote. This is because Fraga, widely recognized for his close and long-standing ties to foreign capital, was part of Cardoso's government and his performance was highly criticized, even being one of the proponents of privatizations.

Incidentally, at one point during the debates, the PSDB candidate let slip his intention to promote privatizations. The minor candidates, Pastor Everaldo and Fidelix, also openly expressed their willingness to privatize everything, but they don't count because – thankfully – they don't have the remotest chance of winning the election. Still, it's worth noting the exaggerated optimism of the pastor, who insisted on saying "in my government" and even went so far as to claim that from January 1st, when he would assume the Presidency of the Republic, he would take certain measures, etc., etc. Many of those present had to hold back their laughter.

It's still too early to assess the positive or negative effects of the debate on voters, because the audience fell short of expectations, but if anyone managed to sway undecided voters and attract votes, only two candidates, based on their performance, could have achieved this feat: Marina Silva and Dilma Rousseff. In any case, at this point, no one doubts that there will be a second round, with the two women vying for the position. It's difficult now, considering the new electoral landscape created by the death of Eduardo Campos and the entry of Marina Silva, to predict which of the two will be elected, even with Ibope polling a victory for the former senator from Acre. This is because we still have more than a month of campaigning left, a period in which much can still happen. And no one can foresee the possibility of surprises.